Finding contractors

Last week we posted a checklist of what you needed to start a local business. One of the most important things about starting your local business is finding people to work for you or with you.

If you are currently looking for people, here are a few good places to find contractors.

Craigslist

Craigslist was probably your first thought right? Craigslist is a great place to post your for hire ad but where do you post?

For our cleaning company, we typically post in gigs under the domestic gigs category. We also post in household services so that its visible to companies who have posted their own ads and who may be browsing their listings or competitors’.

To find contractors, you can also email the companies you see advertising their services. Remember hiring existing contractors that are already skilled in what you want to offer is key.

Local Facebook Groups

Posting in local groups has netted us great results. Local garage sale groups or mom groups can be a great source of referrals (and business). Asking for cleaners people in the group personally use can give you great leads.

Friends and relatives of your current contractors

Generally whenever we have a great reliable hire, we ask them if they can recommend a friend or family member who may also be interested in working with us. Chances are, if they are reliable and they won’t risk their job by recommending someone who would not be a good worker.

Pro Tip

If you post on sites like Monster or Careerbuilder expect to find temp people who are looking for cash until they land their career job. These people will most likely be unskilled and not have the necessary equipment needed to take on the jobs immediately.

Have any other tips for finding reliable contractors? Please share.